In one of Washington's rare bipartisan bill-signing ceremonies, President Obama on Wednesday enacted the STOCK Act, a set of new financial disclosure requirements designed to prevent insider trading based on information gathered in the course of work by members of Congress and top executive branch officials.

At a ceremony in a White House auditorium attended by some dozen lawmakers and Vice President Joe Biden, Obama hailed the new law as one step toward closing "the deficit of trust between this city and the rest of the country." He added, "The notion that everybody plays by the same set of rules is one of our most cherished values." He did not mention the impact on federal employees.

Though lawmakers as varied as Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., attended the event, Obama noted that the bill's chief champion Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., was absent due to a broken leg.